Lisbon Craft Beer Has Arrived. Here Is Where It Went.

For most of my adult life, beer in Lisbon meant Super Bock or Sagres, served cold, in half-litre glasses, at tables on the street. This was not a problem. Both beers are competently made for the purpose they serve, which is refreshment in a warm city.

In the last five years, craft beer has arrived. I observe this with the same mixed feelings I observe every change in Lisbon: genuinely good, and part of a broader transformation that has complicated costs. The best of the new breweries are making interesting things. The worst are making expensive things that taste like they are trying too hard. The distinction is worth making.

Dois Corvos Cervejaria (doiscorvos.pt — Rua Capitao Leitao 94, Marvila) is the brewery that started this conversation in Lisbon and is still the best reason to make the trip to Marvila. The taproom is industrial-space without the performance of being industrial-space. The IPAs are good. The seasonal releases are worth paying attention to.

Musa da Bica d’Agua (musabicadagua.com — Rua do Alcântara 4-5, Alcântara) is the brewery with a view of the Tagus and the 25 de Abril bridge. This is either a selling point or an irrelevance depending on whether you care about views while drinking beer. The beer is good enough to stand on its own.

Super Bock is still fine. The craft beer is genuinely interesting. The city now has both.